"Cyborg She," One Man's Perverse Fantasy

Director Kwak Jae-yong has been giving less than stellar performances ever since the South Korean megahit ``My Sassy Girl’’ (2001) and the mellow romance ``Classic’’ (2003) ― and he makes an effort to redeem himself, rather fruitlessly, in ``Cyborg She.’’

The Korea-Japan joint production nevertheless held a top spot in the Japanese box office for five weeks and sold over 110,000 DVDs. The movie translates into real action akin to Japanese sci-fi anime, and is not without its charms, particularly with some striking visuals and top stars Haruka Ayase and Keisuke Koide giving endearing performances.

But this reporter ― having loved Kwak’s ``Sassy’’ and ``Classic’’ (2003), despised ``Sassy’s’’ prequel ``Windstruck’’ (2004) and felt pity for ``My Mighty Princess’’ (2008) ― was not at all convinced by ``Cyborg’s’’ perverse pursuit of an older man’s self-gratifying fantasy. ``This movie is like a gift to myself, to my lonely days as a young man without a girlfriend,’’ Kwak told reporters following the press preview in Seoul, Wednesday.

The 49-year-old filmmaker emphasized that the movie, despite its recurring theme of a quirky young woman shaking up and ultimately saving the life of a lonely, spineless man, should not be seen as part of a trilogy with ``Sassy’’ and ``Windstruck.’’ But the director relies too much on the premise of the emotional hinge of unrequited love beneath the surface of some pretty bad slapstick.

Lonely geek Jiro (Koide) is no longer so lonely when a femme cyborg (Ayase) crashes his birthday party. She has traveled back in time from the year 2133, to help him and all of humanity, and as an added bonus, has his ex-girlfriend’s pretty looks. She tries to blend into the local scene by shopping for clothes, even though it inevitably involves giving electric shocks to the cashier, and developing a taste for fried chicken, though eating them whole. Such third rate jokes set up the slapstick for the next few reels and are completed by her efforts to rescue Jiro and other humans like an anime Supergirl.

The story does pull at the heartstrings, however, when the cyborg arranges a time warp for them to visit Jiro’s hometown, which has been destroyed by an earthquake. The big budget franchise recreates a beautiful and nostalgic, storybook-like traditional Japanese town and conjures up childhood wonders. It’s quite ironic though that the most ``fake’’ (is it a time warp or a staged hypnosis? We don’t know) moment is the most compelling in the whole story.

Back in reality in Tokyo, our protagonist starts falling for the lovely robot. Jiro agonizes over whether, beneath her fixed smile, the cyborg can ever feel his growing attachment to her. When an earthquake hits the city, however, it's a question Jiro, rather than she, has to deal with. This is where the film’s 10 billion won is mostly poured into, and is indeed spectacular, but the climactic drama between the two characters is necessary to cover up some of the artifice.

Koide assumes the most expressive role, but it's Ayase who engages your attention as the always smiling, lovely cyborg who may have a blooming sense of human emotion. Kwak strongly emphasized that ``Cyborg’’ is a sci-fi movie and it was indeed featured as the closing film for the 2008 Pucheon (Bucheon) International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan). Given the plotline, one might have expected the cyborg to experience some kind of existential struggle like ``Bicentennial Man.’’ Instead, it’s about a young science major, who, frustrated about not having a girlfriend, creates a pretty robot that can stay by his side.

In theaters May 14. 100 minutes. 12 and over. Distributed by NEW.

Korea-US Joint Film Speaks of Love

One of my all-time favorite films. Gina Kim rocks, and Vera Farmiga is amazing and Ha Jung-woo is just wickedly talented.

From left, producer Lee Chang-dong, actor Ha Jung-woo and director Gina Kim

``Never Forever'' translates onto screen the language of love, through which Korean-American director Gina Kim hopes to connect with the audience. ``I wish my film will be a means of establishing mutual understanding with the public,'' she said during a press conference last Thursday at a Seoul theater.

Before the film's release on June 21, Kim and actor Ha Jung-woo enthusiastically discussed their work, along with co-producer Lee Chang-dong, the celebrated director of ``Secret Sunshine'' (2007).

Kim, a noted rookie filmmaker, also wrote the love story, and explained that ``Never'' is about mutual understanding.

``Two individuals sharing affection is in the end mutual understanding,'' she said. ``It's not just a simple form of communication. Love equals passion plus compassion, and I believe mutual understanding is the plus sign that joins the two elements together,'' Kim said.

Jointly produced by Korea and the United States, the film traces the emotional journey of Sophie, an American woman (Vera Farmiga), who, believing that only a child will save her shaky marriage with her Korean-American husband, begins an illicit sexual relationship with Jihah, an illegal immigrant (Ha Jung-woo).


Kim explained that it was difficult to cast Vera Farmiga, who made a breakthrough in ``The Departed'' (2006) opposite Leonardo Dicaprio and Matt Damon and is often praised as the next Meryl Streep.

``It was difficult to find an actress for the role, but I fell in love with Vera Farmiga after seeing her in `Down to the Bone' (2004). But she had grown to become a highly demanded actress sought after by Martin Scorsese, Anthony Mingella and others.

``But I heard she was an intellectual, so I sent her the screenplay and got an okay. Vera said she liked the strong script, and the fact that I was a woman made her feel at ease,'' said the director.

``Vera called me this morning and was deeply sorry she could not be here,'' Kim said on the actress' behalf. Farmiga is currently in Budapest, Hungary shooting another film.

As for choosing Ha for the male leading role of Jihah, Kim explained that producers Lee Joon-dong and Andrew Fierberg had previously met at the Pusan (Busan) International Film Festival. ``The one film we saw was `The Unforgiven' (starring Ha, 2005), and the three of us thought `What a charismatic actor,' '' she said.

``After casting Vera, we were searching for an actor who would complement her. We suddenly thought of Ha Jung-woo. It's usually not easy to agree, but the two producers and I unanimously decided to cast him.''

Ha said he accepted the offer because the script moved him. Though he admitted feeling uneasy about acting opposite Farmiga, he explained that their first encounter extinguished his fears.

``We met at a coffee shop. She was reshooting and promoting `The Departed' at the time, and showed up carrying her costumes and make-up box herself,'' Ha said.

``She came across as being very open, humane and warm, and maintained this first impression throughout the whole of the filming. Vera is a big actress who encompasses an equal amount of absorption (with her work) and is very considerate of her co-stars.''

Though Ha worked in a foreign environment, much like his character in the film, he learned how to ``act using all the five senses'' by intensely concentrating on his co-star and reacting to her every move.

Lee Chang-dong co-produced the film with Now Film representative Lee Joon-dong and New York-based producer Andrew Fierberg (``Keane,'' 2006).

Lee praised Ha's performance: ``It's very difficult for a young actor to possess such powerful presence and depth. I believe he's a very special actor, and look forward to what he has to offer in the future. He is an actor who will mature along with the Korean film industry.''

Lee decided to take part in the film project after reading the screenplay.

``Despite being a Korean film with Korean characteristics, the film takes place in the United States and embraces the American culture and system,'' said Lee. ``I wanted to see what we (Korean and American filmmakers) could offer each other, and I learned a lot about the American independent film industry.''

Lee complimented Kim's ability to put the film together with enormous speed, concentration and calculation. ``She created a good film full of intensity that also manages to loosen up when it needs to,'' he said.

It is also noteworthy that composer Michael Nyman, renowned in Korea for his soundtracks for films such as ``The Piano'' (2003), created the beautiful piano score for ``Never.''``I had met Michael as a fan of his when he performed in Korea,'' Kim said. ``I immediately thought of him for the music, and got a `yes' two hours after e-mailing him. It was a great honor for a rookie like me to work with such a great artist.''